The World of Starcraft
by Darridus
Summary: CC Corp's secret is out, and the company is permanently shut down. But when an American gaming company appropriates their assets for their newest upcoming title, what can our heroes expect from the latest game taking the MMO world by storm? Ryou Misaki will find out soon enough, because Blizzard Japan is making an offer he can't refuse. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1 : Rising Tide

September 24th, 2018 – CC Corp, under investigation by the public health and safety commission for allegations of involvement in the recent 'Doll Syndrome' epidemic, announces that their flagship title, "The World R2" will be shutting down it's servers within the month, permanently discontinuing the game. CEO Eiji Nagashima was unavailable for comment, but spokesmen for CC Corp have neither confirmed nor denied any connection between "The World" and the recent rash of Doll Syndrome cases.

September 27th, 2018 – After an extensive and thorough inquiry, agents of the public health and safety commission release their findings to the public, shocking millions. In summary, the commission's agents discovered that certain elements of The World had been adapted from an earlier game, known as 'Fragment', written by renowned German neurobiologist and computer scientist Harald Hoerwick. This was already public knowledge but was not widely known. What was truly the discovery was that unfinished and faulty parts of Fragment's code was built in to the framework of The World, creating anomalous conditions that led to the events of not only the permanent crash of The World R1, but also the previously unexplained events experienced by players of The World R2 during 2017. The faulty code has already been removed by a team of admins working for CC Corp during 2017…the infamous Cubia Event, but many of CC Corp's customers expressed concern and anger over the newly revealed link between CC Corp and cases of Doll Syndrome, which almost universally died out after the 'AIDA Event' detailed in records seized by commission agents. Numerous arrests took place amongst CC Corp employees and shareholders according to implications of criminal negligence and conspiracy pertaining to Doll Syndrome victims. The World R2 is immediately shut down by the public health and safety commission as a potential danger to the Japanese public, as well as the internet at large due to the viral nature of the anomalous digital entities spawned from The World's evolved and adapted programming. Charges of libel against Brazilian Ambassador Carlos "Salvador" Aihara are dropped.

October 1st, 2018 – CC Corp declares bankruptcy, with stock plummeting to record lows.

October 13th, 2018 - CEO Eiji Nagashima and several high-ranking CC Corp employees are convicted with staggering evidence of criminal negligence, conspiracy, unethical business practices, embezzling of company funds, and violation of the end user license agreement. Nagashima faces life in prison, and his cohorts receive 30 years with no chance for parole.

October 20th, 2018 – Under pressure from the public and legal representatives of victims of Doll Syndrome, government officials release an official statement regarding the circumstances of the 'AIDA Event', and the 'CUBIA Event'. To the shock and awe of millions of viewers across the nation, public health and safety commission chairman Taro Mitsuhide details the events of 2017 at a press conference in Tokyo. Ratings indicate that about 2 of 3 persons in Japan tune in to view the televised broadcast.

The official explanation is that sometime during 2017, the unique conditions made possible by the evolving nature of Harald Hoerwick's original, half-finished code, as well as the adaptive nature of The World's skeletal framework built around the 'Fragment' code, resulted in a series of events that led to the creation of a self-aware Artificial Intelligence dubbed CUBIA by CC Corp employees. CC Corp irresponsibly failed to report this occurrence, and instead engaged in unethical scientific experiments regarding the CUBIA AI without the consent of players within The World. This was in blatant violation of established internet and commercial law, as well as the EULA agreed to by CC Corp customers. Government officials, even from other countries, were understandably concerned at the possible existence of a rogue AI loose on the internet. Fears were assuaged and many sighed in relief when Mitsuhide reported that the CUBIA AI had been deleted from within The World already, during the infamous CUBIA event using specialized scripts pre-built into the code itself by Harald Hoerwick as a failsafe.

Upon further questioning, it was revealed that the one ultimately responsible for the deletion of the CUBIA AI was in fact the main participant in the CUBIA Event, Player 'Haseo', well known The World player who had been propelled into online stardom earlier in 2017 for his rapid domination of The World's in-game arena, conquest of a supposedly unwinnable dungeon, and defeat of the supposedly 'undefeatable boss', which was later revealed to have been the CUBIA AI's programming in condensed form.

Haseo had been previously appeared on the E-News scene as a sort of online celebrity famous for in-game accomplishments. New reports confiscated from CC Corp reveal that Haseo was the one ultimately responsible for defeating not only CUBIA in it's in-game incarnation, but also for patching the AIDA bug from earlier in the year on his own initiative by directly accessing the programming with the assistance of admin employees of CC Corp.

This stunning display of online heroism has shaken the nation. That the victims of Doll Syndrome were effectively resurrected from seemingly permanent comas only through the heroic efforts of another of The World's players as well as a few admins has further enflamed people against the irresponsible actions of CC Corp. During the press conference, many members of the audience (including prominent government and corporate officials) expressed an interest in the true identity of Haseo. Many families and victims of Doll Syndrome have made announcements of support and gratitude for the actions of Haseo, despite them being technically against CC Corp's EULA in regards to modifying the game's files. Mitsuhide himself went so far as to state that were it not for the actions of the mysterious Haseo, it was a very real possibility that CUBIA could have escaped from The World using data collected from players, causing not only billions of dollars in damages, but possibly starting an alarming epidemic of Doll Syndrome and effectively usurping control of the internet.

Upon learning of the sheer gravity of the situation and the extremely narrow margin in which disaster was avoided, governments around the world have taken steps to tighten security and fund additional research into cyber-defense, an already booming industry. Internet service providers and online services, as well as digital entertainment in general is also under careful scrutiny in the wake of the CC Corp scandal.

Additionally, the character and exploits of Haseo have been propelled into online stardom and internet popularity. An influx of news reports and firsthand accounts have been brought to the forefront as Haseo is hailed as the Heroic Savior of the Information Age. Haseo's name has recently become the number one searched term in virtually every major search engine for the past few days, and growing continually. Fan websites and even discussions on Haseo by established mass media titans such as Asahi and JNB have been popping up with exponential regularity. The question on everyone's mind seems to be 'Who is Haseo'? Searching on the web will bring up numerous theories, but journalists generally agree on the summary presented by the original article in Akiba Online News regarding his recent conquest of The World's in-game arena at the top of the ladders.

Taken from numerous sources, Haseo was by all accounts an ordinary player during his first appearances. However, approximately three months into the game, Haseo joined a growing number of players frustrated with the rampant 'Player-Killer' phenomena in The World. Player-Killers are players who attack and kill the avatars of other players within dungeons and fields of The World, outside the arena. This feature had always been a part of The World, and distinguished it from other MMORPGs in the fantasy genre. It was later expanded to include towns as 'danger zones' as well, briefly.

Haseo, for unknown reasons, became one of the pioneering "Player-Killer-Killers". That is, players who exclusively hunt and defeat players who prey on other players. This was the period when Haseo first gained renown as an infamous and feared 'PKK'. He gained the menacing moniker "Terror of Death" from a widely spoken-of battle between Haseo and a party of no less than one hundred PKs. This was regarded as an online urban legend by many players, but records taken from CC Corp's database indicate that this event did indeed occur, on July 6th of 2017, at 7:24 PM Tokyo time. Video recordings of the battle were released earlier this week by the a former CC Corp employee in an exclusive with AON. Since then, the '100-PK Showdown', among other recordings of Haseo's exploits can be viewed on numerous News and Fan-websites.

After that event, Haseo continued hunting PKs for about 2 months, and then suddenly disappeared. It has been discovered that Haseo leveled down to level 1 due to a serious glitch in the system caused by a conflict between Fragment's original framework and the code of The World, which had been built around it.

However, in about 1 month, Haseo appeared again in the online community as a participant in the in-game arena circuit. The arena was divided into three sub-divisions; The Demon Palace, the Holy Palace, and the Sage Palace. Shockingly, Haseo achieved unsurpassed success in the arena equal to his reputation as a PKK. Haseo conquered all three arenas over a relatively short period of time, being about a month and half of preparation between each run and conquering all three on his very first try. 'Team Haseo' consisted of Haseo and his various friends and guild members. The most common lineup, however, consisted of Haseo, Atoli, and Silabus, all belonging to Haseo's guild, 'Canard'.

During the course of these arena takeovers was the notorious 'AIDA Event', in which players were unable to log out and were actually unconscious during the time of play. New information has revealed that Haseo actually battled the AIDA virus in-game during arena bouts, as the AIDA virus had corrupted the avatars of several previous arena champions and other high-level players. The battles culminated in the eventual defeat of the central AIDA data entity, which had infected the avatar of Player Ovan, a previous acquaintance of Haseo's. This singular victory is regarded as the first of Haseo's heroic actions, as virtually all of the hundreds of cases of Doll Syndrome were effectively reversed in the 24 hours immediately after Haseo's victory over AIDA using specially programmed software added to his account by an admin working for CC Corp. Haseo effectively saved the lives of these unfortunate victims of corporate negligence, and has rightfully been hailed as a hero by the families of victims and the awakened comatose players themselves. Interestingly, Haseo did not seek compensation or even recognition for his actions, which were only ever explained much later by Taro Mitsuhide of the public health and safety commission during his investigation of CC Corp.

Next of Haseo's achievements during the 'CUBIA Event' was the defeat of the CUBIA AI Entity, a dangerous and self-aware AI that evolved within the world and attempted to escape into the greater internet by taking data from the players connected to The World. At first, players bought into CC Corp's explanation that CUBIA was merely a special event promoting the game for veteran players. However, the true nature of CUBIA soon became clear when players 'killed' in-game by the CUBIA entity rapidly developed Doll Syndrome in real life. Fearing a resurgent epidemic, state officials took preventive and quarantine measures around the victims, who were all discovered still wearing their VR headsets. This was the first clue that CC Corp had a connection with Doll Syndrome.

Most fortunately, the world was spared what experts believe may have been the worst internet-related disaster since the Pluto's Kiss incident in 2002 when Haseo personally defeated the CUBIA entity with a repurposed version of the CC Corp developed software he used to defeat AIDA. The rogue AI was summarily defeated, freeing the data taken by the entity and inexplicably freeing the consciousness of the players captured by it. This was the second time that Haseo saved a large number of people who were reduced to a comatose state thanks to CC Corp's criminal activities. It was the final nail in Eiji Nagashima's coffin and CC Corp's reputation. The World has since closed it's servers permanently, and had it's data confiscated by the government. A class-action lawsuit by the families of those affected by the Doll Syndrome phenomenon has effectively bankrupted CC Corp's remaining resources. In order to pay for the severance agreements and outstanding costs, CC Corp accepted a generous acquisition by American entertainment giant Blizzard Entertainment.

What this means for the trillion-dollar online gaming industry is currently unknown, as the two titans of the Japanese MMORPG industry are now defunct with the closure of CC Corp. There is now a vacuum in the market, and it appears that Blizzard hopes to take advantage of it with this daring and controversial move.

As for Haseo, no official statement has been made by either the public health and safety commission or by the Kayabuki administration. However, it is apparent that no charges will be filed against Haseo.

Now…the moment everyone has been waiting for. Last night, unofficial contacts claiming to be a former CC Corp employee presented NHN producers with data containing the secret identity of the famous gamer and hero Haseo. Concluding the one-hour special, we will reveal information of the internet's national hero :

Ryou Misaki,

Age 18,

Tokyo, Japan

Yes, folks, the real name of internet hero Haseo is none other than Ryou Misaki, an eighteen-year-old student in Tokyo.

According to extensive research by our reporters, Misaki is the son of prominent businessman and entrepreneur Yuya Misaki, currently operating out of Hong Kong. Ryou Misaki is studying at the prestigious Ouran Private Academy in Tokyo, and lives in an apartment on his own. Due to his age at the time of the events of 2017,his photograph cannot be aired. However, I think it's safe to say that Misaki will see a big increase in popularity now that's everyone knows he's the hero who saved the world from no less than two Rogue AIs.

Misaki represents everything Japan looks for in a hero. He was just an ordinary high school student killing time by playing in one of Japan's most popular online games. But when the world was in danger from a virus only Haseo could stop, he answered the call with stunning success. In conclusion, everyone here would like to personally thank Misaki for his heroic efforts to save the internet and preserve our way of life."

"…and…that's it! We're off!" Said the producer, Hiro Arasaki. He was a middle-aged Japanese man with a short but stocky figure, and wore a pair of tinted glasses and a baseball cap, as well as an black-and-white NHN personnel jacket over casual clothing. "Great job, Mikuro, you really sold it! Damn, look at those ratings! We've got almost 67% viewership, and that's just on TV. Look at the web! Almost everyone in Japan's tuned in to NHN!" The producer celebrated animatedly, and noise filled the studio. People shook hands and pat each other on the back, congratulating themselves on the record viewership for their station.

"Thanks, Arasaki." Answered Yosuke Mikuro with a huge grin. He was a typical news anchor, with a clean shaven face and short cropped hair, wearing a plain blue-grey suit and red tie. "Everyone did a great job. Ha ha!" He laughed, elated by the good fortune of their studio.

"Yeah! I can't believe how lucky we were to get that tape this morning! Damn, that Misaki fella's gonna put NHN on the map!" Shouted the manager in jubilant celebration as he took a shot of the champagne someone cracked open. Mikuro was toasting with a couple of his colleagues over to the side.

The whole studio celebrated their achievement and luck at their exclusive story. Little did they know, though, that their exposition was not entirely appreciated universally. They didn't realize the far-reaching consequences that their journalism would reap.

Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

There it was.

The inevitable call.

Ryou Misaki sat alone in his lonely little three-room apartment in Tokyo with his head hung low. _Shit_, he thought. _I can't believe they said my name on TV…_

Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

Someone was already calling him. He sighed in exasperation and panic as it really sunk in that _the whole world now knew that he was Haseo._

CC Corp, for all of their faults, had adamantly refused to give out his personal information. Unfortunately, it looks like that in the media circus surrounding the CUBIA scandal that nothing was sacred.

"…Hello?" He tentatively answered. God, he hoped it wasn't his father.

"Ryou?" Came the voice, thankfully female and recognized.

"Oh, thank god. I thought it'd be my dad that called first…or worse." He was honestly relieved. He wasn't too keen on explaining how he saved the world from cyber-cthulu and didn't tell his parents…

"I…I just saw the broadcast on TV…I'm sorry, Ryou. I know it must be bad for you." She said, nervously. Maybe she thought he'd be angry or something.

"Ugh…it's ok, I guess. I'm fine. You don't have to worry so much about me. But…I guess this IS big…Man, I hope I don't get in trouble at school…" Chigusa had a tendency to worry too much, but she might be right, in this case. Ryou might be talking a big game, but really he was teetering on the edge of panic. The whole world knew who he was…and _everyone_ was talking about him. "…Ok…maybe I'm not fine…" He continued in a lower tone.

"Um…do you want me to come over?" She offered. She had moved from Chiba to Tokyo over the summer to be closer to him, but they weren't quite living together yet. She had her own apartment on the other side of town. Ryou was honestly tempted to take her up on that, as he was honestly feeling as jittery as a rattlesnake cooped up in shoebox.

Still, he knew better. "No." He said quickly. "I don't want you getting mixed up in this if I can help it…You should avoid my place until this blows over…" But damn, that was the wrong thing to say. He'd better fix this fast… "Don't worry, though, we can meet up later somewhere else. I'll think of something…"

"Oh..O-ok…" She acknowledged, somewhat sadly. Chigusa still had low self-esteem issues, and Ryou had to be careful of his big mouth around her. He didn't want to hurt her by saying something stupid at the wrong time, so he had been working on his attitude over the last few months. He was understandably upset over the course of events, but he had to keep his cool. When he was on the phone with Chigusa was _not_ the time to lose his temper.

"Y-yeah…Look, we probably shouldn't talk right now. I'm really sorry, but hackers these days can even listen in on phones…I wouldn't be surprised if someone at school tries to jack in to my calls. I'll buy a new phone tomorrow and call you as soon as I can, so please, wait until then. I promise." He pleaded with her and hoped she'd understand. He definitely didn't want to drag her in to the spotlight with him if he could help it, and he was right about his phone being insecure. It was just a basic Sony, and it didn't have any special security software loaded on it. He heard her sigh and audibly pull herself together from the other end of the line. Really, he should be the one doing that in this situation…

"Ok. I understand. I'll wait 'till tomorrow, but you'd better call me by then."

Thank god. He really didn't need to deal with upsetting his girlfriend with everything else that was going. He was glad she understood. Honestly, he'd rather talk with her, too, but it simply wasn't safe. He silently thanked the Buddha that Chigusa was so patient with him. He knew he wasn't always easy to deal with…but at least this time, his heart was in the right place.

"Thank You…I'll definitely talk to you tomorrow. I'll walk over there if I have to." He said with a conviction that seemed to creep into his voice whenever he made a real promise to any of his friends. He supposed that's what inspired the faith he never really earned, even in friends he treated like crap when he still had all of those angst issues last year…

"I'll hold you to it, Ryou." And with that, an audible click sounded over the line as she hung up.

Hnh. Crap. If he wanted to keep a low profile tomorrow, there was no way he could register for a new phone and fill out all the information for it. And it's not like he could just use a pay phone, either. He wasn't comfortable with that. He sighed. It looked like he really _would_ have to hoof it to Chigusa's place, tomorrow, all the way across town.

In the meantime…he should probably check the damage. He put the TV on mute and got up off of his mattress. He flopped into the swivel chair at his desk at the other end of the room, and booted up his PC.

It was, unfortunately, worse than he feared. His mailbox was already full, and he had just emptied it the other day…_Now_, though…he literally had _two terabytes_ worth of fanmail… Some of itt was from his classmates, mostly asking if NHN was telling the truth and if he really was Haseo. Unfortunately, almost anyone could find his email address with a cursory search on just about any engine. It was a simple fact of the restructured internet after the Pluto Kiss Crash of '02 that everyone had to deal with.

He gave up on trying to look through his email as he saw the inbox full of _hundreds of thousands_ of messages. Closing that tab of his browser, he opened up the Searchlight website to surf the net a little and see how many hits he had.

It was not pretty.

Searching his name got him a stunning _8.3 million hits_…in just under ten minutes, he noted. This was scary. All of his friends at school had told him that they were looking forward to the supposed 'expose' on Haseo tonight for days since it was announced. At first, he had thought nothing of it, but he decided it'd be better safe than sorry and set aside some time to watch the special anyways.

Sadly, his suspicions on the dubious nature of NHN's sources had been unfounded. They had totally hit the mark. Ryou Misaki, after all, was in fact Haseo. He had, in fact, fought AIDA and CUBIA at the behest of CC Corp admins, namely Yata…

Most of the hits were either message boards talking about him and asking who the hell Ryou Misaki was, or news broadcasts repeating the story over pretty much every station and the entirety of the internet. He even got hits in English, French, Chinese, Russian, German, Spanish, everything. Everyone was talking about him, and he was hating every moment of it.

_Crap…_ he thought. _School is going to be really awkward, tomorrow._

He had thought he was done with all of this when CC Corp got busted for creating CUBIA and AIDA, but that was obviously not the case, now.

Sure, it'd be nice to have all of his hard work to save the net recognized for once, but those were just short term consequences. He had seen enough TV to know that celebrities had nearly every aspect of their lives scrutinized and analyzed by everyone. Those were just actors and musicians, though. He was another matter entirely.

He had no idea how right he was.

"Haseo! Haseo!"

"Mr. Misaki! Can we get a statement!"

"You're our hero, Haseo!"

"We love you, Ryou!"

Well.

Walking to Chigusa's place…might be problematic after all. He had dressed himself up in a dark green hoodie with the hood up, over a black Carp's baseball cap and sunglasses. It was a good disguise.

Problem was, he had yet to get out of the front door. The calls had started early in the wee hours of the morning. Someone figured out where he lived, and more people showed up when they started yelling about Haseo. It snowballed from there, and someone else apparently had the bright idea to put his address on the net. After that, the streets had crowded with hundreds of fans, news crews, and passerby. It was like a nightmare. His freaking apartment was under siege. Thankfully, his rather understanding landlady had kept the doors locked, and only quietly offered her gratitude for his heroism. As it turned out, the granddaughter of her best friend since high school had been one of the Lost Ones he had saved from AIDA.

He needed to come up with a plan. Honestly, it was looking like he wouldn't even make it to school, today. The principle probably wouldn't be quite so understanding about his school coming under siege as his landlady was.

What he hadn't counted on, though, was the back door. Maybe that could work? It went into an alley blocked by the two adjacent buildings that actually went out into the street _behind_ his apartment, rather than the one in front of it that was currently crowded by a jubilant, hero-worshipping mob.

"Thanks…you're a life saver, Mrs. Aokawa…" She shooed him off as he stepped outside, and before she closed the door behind him, replied.

"Oh, I don't think I'm the life saver here, young man. Good luck, now."

And with that, she shut the door quietly and locked it behind him.

Heh. Him. Ryou the Hero. His Mom and Dad would probably have some choice words about hiding his online double life from them sometime in the future. His dad probably couldn't make it back from Hong Kong if he wanted to, but mom was a different matter. If nothing else, he'd better prepare himself for a rather intense phone conversation soon.

Sneaking over to Chigusa's place had been quite a chore. He'd had to walk for something like fifteen miles, and cross a few busy streets and bridges as well. His disguise earned him a few odd looks, but he didn't get into trouble or anything. Most importantly, no one recognized him as Haseo or Ryou Misaki, the man everyone was talking about. More news shows were on all of the jumbo-trons in Akiba or the plaza, and he managed to get over to Chigusa's apartment without any major incidents.

He unlocked the front door to the stairwell with the key Chigusa gave him, and knocked on her front door a couple of times.

"H..Hello..?" A voice stammered from the other side. Ah. His disguise.

"Chigusa, it's me…Ryou." He said, trying to keep his voice down. No telling who could be listening in.

"Um…really?" Ryou fought the urge to facepalm.

"…Yes. Ryou Misaki, we've been dating for four months?"

"Oh!…S-sorry! I didn't recognize you with that…"

He was starting to feel self-conscious now. "It's okay, but can I please come in? I don't like being out in the open like this…" He may be being paranoid, but not by much. Everyone in Tokyo probably knew who he was by now and- crap! Chigusa's neighbors! Damn! They probably knew all about him…he'd been around long enough that they might recognize him when his picture started showing up on the net…

It'd probably be better to lay low here for awhile, honestly. Chigusa opened the door hastily and ushered him inside. He made sure the windows were blinded and the coast was clear before shedding his urban disguise.

"Yeah. That was kinda the point." He snarked, but made certain to add a charming smile to disarm it and relieve the tension. "I just hope no one finds out I'm here…"

"U-um…Ryou…you're not…embarrassed about me…are you?" Shit. He did not like where this was going.

"No! No no no no!" He waved his arms in front of himself to placate her. He hated it when she got like this. Chigusa was really insecure because she had been bullied a lot during middle school, and it had taken a while for her to get comfortable with him even after they started dating. Often, it was like walking on eggshells if she was feeling down already. Still, he cared enough about her that he would watch his mouth whenever he could. "It's not like that at all! I care about you, and listen. I would tell the whole world that if you wanted me to, I mean it. But I don't want you getting mixed up with all of this business with the paparazzi and the media. It never ends well, believe me." He let out an exasperated breath and looked down at his feet, trying to avoid Chigusa's nervous gaze. He needed to reassure her. "I'm just trying to keep you from getting stuck with my problems…" he finished.

"Ryou…I'm your girlfriend, right?" She asked quietly. When he tried to meet her eyes, she was looking down and avoiding his gaze.

"Of course! I mean…I want you to be…if you want to…" He said. She nodded and closed her eyes in preparation.

"Then that means your problems are my problems. We're partners, remember?" She smiled sweetly at him. And he found himself remembering, alright. She had always been there, for him. Even in The World, she had always tried to be his friend, even when he acted like a royal pain in the ass and a self-righteous prick.

"Y-yeah…Thanks, Chigusa. I needed that." He rubbed the back of his hair and smiled awkwardly. "I guess I've just had a lot on my mind, with all this." He really needed to get himself together. Chigusa shouldn't have to deal with _his_ problems, no matter what she said. She had issues of her own to deal with, and he wanted her to be happy. She didn't need to be caught up in the media circus out there, and she certainly didn't need to deal with his attitude problems.

Ryou had plopped down on the couch, and Chigusa joined him. They sat their in silence for the better part of an hour, just contemplating the everything that'd happened. Not just recently, with all of the business with CC Corp, but also with everything leading up to that. Tri-Edge, AIDA, CUBIA…all the things they'd done in The World, all the friends they'd made, including each other.

After awhile, though, Ryou felt he should say something, at least.

"So, uh…Chigusa…I was thinking…"

"Hmm?"

Urk. _This_ might be awkward… "I don't really want to risk going out again when everyone's looking for me…and I don't really have anywhere else to go, so…do you think I could spend the night here?" Well, he said it.

The effect was more or less immediate. Chigusa's dark eyes widened, and her face turned the color of cherry blossoms. "Uh…" Was her intelligent response. Of course, the implications were not lost on Ryou, so he was quick to clarify.

"Ah, uh, I didn't mean that way!" He corrected. "I just need a place to sleep tonight, so I could probably just crash on the couch or something…" He exaggeratedly gestured to the couch they were sitting on with both hands. His own face had probably lightened up as well, if the heat he felt all over his face was and the suddenly muggy temperature of this fine autumn morning was any indication.

It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about her in that way before, of course. Despite her assertions to the contrary, Chigusa was quite an attractive young woman. He wasn't shallow enough to date her solely based on her outward appearance, of course, but he would be lying if he said that he didn't notice her stunning good looks. He didn't care what her bullies in middle school thought. To him, she was the most beautiful woman in his life.

However, neither of them really had any previous experience with intimate human contact. Haseo was still missing chunks of memory from when he had been comatose for about two years when he was ten, and only had vague memories of rather immature behaviour and thoughts regarding females. He was certain that he'd never had any close relationships outside of his family, though. He'd thought about Shino in the same way he cared about Chigusa, before. But that was different. There had been something, there, maybe. She had been all he thought about for almost a year, on his quest for revenge.

They'd decided to just be friends, in the end. That was all either of them really wanted, although Shino had certainly been flattered. Almost as much as he had been embarrassed, considering the transparency of his feelings pointed out by all of their other friends. Shino always had been a little oblivious about that sort of thing. They still kept in touch, and Shino joined him and Chigusa sometimes whenever they went out to eat or the movies.

Chigusa, on the other hand, had even less experience than Ryou. She had been in a shell for most of her high school life, and was lonely even before then. She had been mercilessly bullied in middle school…separated from the pack by a clique of the other girls for whatever reason and marked as an easy target when she never fought back. The constant bullying and harassment had seriously stunted her growth, socially. She had been upset enough that she was ready to something…extreme, before she had made friends online. Ryou never asked about the scars on her wrists, but he knew. She had been getting a lot better ever since meeting him, Silabus, Gaspard, Kuhn, and all of the others in The World, and really started coming out of her shell when they started dating.

The point was that neither of them really had any experience with serious relationships or intimacy before they had met each other. Hell, Ryou didn't know about her but he hadn't even kissed a girl before that time in the park two months ago. He had been walking her home on the way back from dinner and they'd taken a shortcut through the park. She'd stopped suddenly, and Ryou, holding her hand, turned around to see what was the matter. He'd looked into her big dark eyes and then it just…happened. They'd kissed, for what was probably a first for both of them. Later that night, she'd told him that it had taken her almost all day to work up the courage for her to do it. Looking back, he'd thought she seemed a little nervous on the way back. That was why he'd taken the shortcut through the park in the first place. He thought she was scared that they might be waylaid by yankis or something since it had been pretty late, so he'd decided to take a shortcut to get her home quicker. He hadn't given any thought to the romantic aspect of a quiet midnight stroll through the park, although it had been a welcome surprise.

"O-oh! Y-yeah! Of course! I-I'll go get some pillows for you!" She stammered out just a decibel or two too loudly and he winced a little. She bolted up from the sofa in an embarrassed rush, and bolted off to the other room right after that. Ryou resisted the urge to make a 'phew' sound. Potentially extremely awkward conversation: averted. He liked Chigusa, and he could see them going to that level. Someday. Honestly, he doubted she was any more prepared than he was to take such a big step in their relationship.

For some reason, Ryou suspected that it would probably be awhile before Chigusa came back bearing pillows. Whenever she felt like she had embarrassed herself, she would try to avoid exacerbating the situation further by running off for awhile. He had worried about her at first, given her past tendencies, but his fears were unfounded. He had discovered awhile back that whenever she made an excuse to leave when she was embarrassed, she whole-heartedly pursued that excuse. Once, after an ill-timed joke at the noodle shop in the mall, she had made the excuse that she needed to re-decorate her apartment and subsequently beat a hasty retreat.

The very next day, her apartment had been completely unrecognizable from it's previous incarnation. It's furniture was completely rearranged, featured a new set of curtains, she somehow totally altered the shape of the marble counter in her kitchenette, and the teal paint had been replaced by shocking pink walls.

There was no doubt in Ryou's mind that Chigusa would spend the next two hours meticulously going over each and every pillow in her possession to test and see which was the fluffiest, most comfortable, and purest white of them all. It was kind of endearing, actually, even though he intellectually knew that it was a coping mechanism to occupy her mind with tedious chores in order to avoid dealing with uncomfortable thoughts. It was still sweet of her to put so much care into something for him. He'd have to make sure to thank her later.

It wasn't his place to judge how she dealt with stress, so he just shrugged and let his mind wander.

After a good twenty minutes, though, he had more or less exhausted his mind's capacity for complex and rational thought and decided that some mind numbing television would be nice. Chigusa was still in the other room, so he flicked the power button on the remote resting on the coffee table and activated the TV set on the other side.

"Kitsune News Network, Live, bringing you an exclusive report on Ryou Misaki-"

click.

"NHN about Ryou Misaki-"

click.

"-character Haseo"

click.

Every single one.

Every single channel prominently featured news, speculation, or debates about _him_. He even saw a cartoon version of himself fighting a chibified Sirius, for god's sake!

This was gonna be a long week…

If only he knew.


	2. Chapter 2 : Darkness Gathers

"Hello, and welcome to Akiba Online News, your only source for the latest stories fresh out of Tokyo!" Said the announcer with a decidedly outdoor voice despite the relatively small confines of the studio.

"Now, we have a real treat for our viewers today…" He continued. "As you all know, about one week ago the identity of the player behind internet-hero Haseo was revealed by NHN after receiving an anonymous tip from a former CC Corp employee. But we here at Akiba Online have something different in store. Wait for it…" He paused for a moment and flashed a winning smile of perfectly white teeth, and let the suspense build up on the other side of the camera.

"…Ok! Today, we are having a special guest appearance from none other than Misaki Ryu, in his first appearance on national television and online broadcasting! AON has secured an exclusive first-look interview with Mr. Misaki, bringing it to you live from here in Tokyo. Fans of Haseo or gaming aficionados aren't the only ones who'll want to stay tuned for this, coming up next after a word from our sponsors!" He finished up his performance until the director on-set gave him the 'ok' that they were off-air again.

"Good work Omaeda. That'll give 'em time to tell all of their friends, and the suspense will be _killing_ them. I can just see the look on Arasaki's face when they here about this over at NHN…Ha! AON's ratings will make theirs look like a two-bit public access weblog!" Said the smug looking man sitting in a high fold-up chair off to the side of the cameraman. His name escaped Ryou's memory, if he had ever given it.

He couldn't believe he was doing this. Appearing on national TV. AON was the go-to network for all of the technology and game-related news out there- Everything from E-Sports commentaries, tech expos, and game reviews went through AON. It had a strong following already, particularly in Tokyo itself.

Because of the nature of the news and information broadcast from AON, a lot of it covered local events like technology releases or software updates. Another big part of their programming was gaming news and the like. Of course, with the fall of CC Corp, AON lost two of it's major staple features for afternoon slots. _The World_ and _Forbidden _had been the two most popular MMO's available in Japan, and _The World_ actually had a strong international following. With CC Corp shut down by the government for health safety and contractual violations and their assets appropriated by a foreign company, things had been looking down for AON's ratings.

Until now, obviously. He didn't get into the details of the deal, but they must've ponied up quite a bit to his father to convince him to rope Ryou into making an appearance on TV.

It's not as though it was a bad idea, exactly. His father had made some good points in his call from Hong Kong. "You need to get behind this, kid." He had said. "The longer you avoid the spotlight, the more time all of those vulture's will be able to feed on the hype. You need to make an appearance before they blow you up to a big enough proportion that you can't live up to. I've seen it happen to good people before, and I don't want the same thing to happen to you. It's a hell of a lot better to take advantage of the positive media attention while it lasts than to wait for the negative to blindside you one day. Trust me, you'll be thankful for this later." And honestly, he could see his dad's point. The media in Japan was just as fickle as anywhere else, and it _was_ probably a better idea to show people what he was like before the news people started slanting things to their own perspectives.

With that in mind, he had agreed to appear on AON's friday night show. They had arranged for his interview to start at around 8:00 PM and last until about 9:00 PM. It was to be broadcast live, and he was going to walk out on screen right after the commercial break was over.

He asked Chigusa to stay home for this. No one really knew about her yet, even his dad. He'd like to keep it that way, at least for a little while would think that he'd have learned his lesson about keeping big secrets like this from his family after the _extremely_ harsh chewing out he had received at the hands of his mother in a 2-hour telephone conversation…but old habits die hard. He would certainly have some explaining to do whenever his parents made it back from their extended business trip in Hong Kong.

"…And we're back. Now…Now's the moment we've all been waiting for…" A live band started up a drum roll, and a man over to the side wearing a head set nodded to Ryou. That was his cue.

Taking a deep breathe, Ryou steeled his resolve and stepped onto the set and in front of the camera. The host, a man of about 20 or 25, started clapping furiously with a huge grin plastered across his face. He was dressed in a trendy, casual outfit consisting of a white AON T-shirt and black cargo pants. He had his hair spiked up with gel, but he wore a highly visible headset meant to play up the 'fake-otaku' look. Ryou did his best to put on a false smile, and shook the host's hand when prompted. He took a seat on the chrome-metal 'tech' style furnishing next to the host's identical chair.

"Misaki Ryou, the man everyone's been talking about!" The host finished in that same annoying sales-pitch crossed with surfer-dude voice. "As you all have undoubtedly heard, Mr. Misaki has recently been propelled into new heights of fame as he was revealed to be the player behind Internet hero Haseo. Now, Mr. Misaki, we here at AON would like to ask you a few questions that have been on everyone's mind. For starters, what do you think of being so suddenly thrust into the limelight of public attention?" He asked, becoming momentarily serious as he recited his query.

"Honestly, I could do without all of this hassle." Ryou answered honestly. "It's made getting to school and work difficult, and I just don't see what the big deal is…" he continued. "I'm just some guy who plays too many video games."

The host burst into laughter. "Ahahahaha! Isn't that just swell! Heroic, and modest too! But you don't need to be humble for our sakes. Anyways, we'll keep it snappy here and get as many questions answered as we can." The host made a show of pulling down a little holographic screen connected to his headset, and Ryou was reminded of the 'Scouters' from a vintage anime he saw one time. He remembered something about the studio answering the most commonly asked questions sent in from viewers.

"For the next question, Hiro from Saitama asks 'How did you defeat the CUBIA monster?'. Well, I think I speak for all of us tech-savy folks when I say that we've all been wondering about that. Details from CC Corp and government spokesman have been sketchy at best, and eyewitness accounts of the event are often contradictory or unreliable. What's your answer to Mr. Hiro, Mr. Misaki?

Ryou had been expecting a question like that. He had decided that he might as well tell the truth and avoid any problems that might come about from withholding information. Still, he wouldn't say anything to implicate Yata or the other members of Raven.

"Well, the short version is that I got a special piece of software from an admin added to my character's profile that allowed me to delete CUBIA from inside the game, which was the only way to access it's data due to the way the _The World_ was mashed up with it's previous archaic data from _Fragment_. The only reason I was the one who took down CUBIA was because my character was the one that already had the necessary software loaded." Ryou explained.

The host nodded seriously and added his two sents. "I see. So what you're saying is that you were the right man at the right time?" Ryou nodded in the affirmative. "Well, in any case, the 'net is certainly lucky that you stepped up to the plate when _The World_ needed you most."

Ryou acknowledged him. "I'm glad I was able to help, I guess."

"We're _all_ glad you were there to help, Mr. Misaki. Now…" He flashed a smile again. "On to the next question! Okay, this one's from Hattori in Osaka. 'Yo! What are you gonna do now that The World got busted, man?'. We've actually gotten a lot of similar questions from our viewers regarding your plans for the future now that _The World's_ servers have been permanently shut down. Not in those exact words, mind you…"

Ryou rolled his eyes and gave the question some thought. He'd obviously had to cut down on his gaming after _The World_ was taken offline. _Forbidden_ had likewise been cut off when CC Corp went bankrupt, and games like _Riot Gun_ or _Call of Duty 10_ didn't really appeal to him.

"I don't really know. I guess I'll just focus on school until I graduate…maybe get a few more hours in at work. I'll probably be taking a break from gaming for now…

* * *

_"…I'll probably be taking a break from gaming for now…"_

A huge holographic image of Ryou Misaki's interview on AON suddenly winked out of existence in a dark, unlit room. It had no doors or windows, and the only contents of the room were ten large, almost obelisk-like pillars arrayed in two rows of five. On the upper part of the monoliths, solid-black holograms projected exactly 5 millimeters in front of the computer towers. Red letters superimposed over the lower leftmost holo-tower read "BLIZZARD-1 : SOUND ONLY".

The holo-tower across from BLIZZARD-1, labeled BLIZZARD-5 : SOUND ONLY, began to speak over a closed connection that went through numerous dummy-servers and routed through four satellites as to avert any potential eavesdroppers or hacking attempts.

"This was not a part of the scenario." A digitized and disguised voice intoned from the audio speaker on the backside of the monolith.

"Indeed. This turn of events is most…troubling." Came the voice of BLIZZARD-8.

"Misaki's participation in the launch is crucial to our plans. We cannot allow him to continue on this course." Added Blizzard-3.

"I realize that. Do not be alarmed. I have already taken steps to ensure Mr. Misaki's… cooperation. He will abide by the scenario that we have emplaced. His reluctance merely affirms my theory that Ryou Misaki will require more subtle manipulation that our previous endeavors." BLIZZARD-1 placated his compatriots. "I have the matter well in hand, I assure you."

"That is what you always say. And do not patronize my methods, BLIZZARD-1. I know the matter you speak of, and I am unimpressed with your pettiness. All other courses of action had been exhausted in that case, as you very well know." Rebuked BLIZZARD-2."

"Enough." BLIZZARD-9 exclaimed calmly. "So long as Mr. Misaki is plays his part this September, the operation can commence in earnest without any major complications. We shall merely have to wait and see if BLIZZARD-1 can deliver on his word." A sinister tone had crept into the unnaturally deep voice of BLIZZARD-9. "Of course…should his efforts prove to be…unsatisfactory, we may be forced to re-evaluate BLIZZARD-1's position as the chairman of this committee." BLIZZARD-9 laid it out on the table. This would be his move, and it would not go unnoticed by the other members of the Blizzard Council.

They would just have to wait then. The next order of business would be determined by the success or failure of BLIZZARD-1's gambit to recruit Ryou Misaki into their scenario.

* * *

"…Hmmm…." Inside of a richly decorated office in downtown Detroit's technology district, one of America's most prominent businessmen muses on this recent turn of events in Japan.

"…Hey, you wanted to see me, boss?" asked a man coming through the polarized glass doors into the room. The floors were polished black tile which reflected the neo-renaissance light fixtures overhead with perfect luster. The businessman hastily closed the dedicated laptop he used only for the special conferences such as the one that had just adjourned. The taller man who had just entered his office seemed to have his own opinions on the hurried action, though. "…Was I interrupting something?" the head of security rose an eyebrow over the polarized, sunglass-like lenses extending from the implants to the sides of his eyes.

"Uh, no. Why would you even…never mind. Look, Adam, I called you up here to discuss your next assignment." Said David Sarif, majority shareholder and CEO of Sarif Industries. Normally, he was mainly involved in the American mechanical augmentation industry, but this was big. Too big for him to pass up.

"Okay. I'm all ears." Adam replied as he came further in to the office. Sarif gestured for his security manager to take a seat in one of the real-leather chairs in front of his desk, while Sarif himself rose from the luxurious armchair behind his desk, taking his laptop with him. He put it down over on a table near the windows that had a view of the illuminated Detroit skyline, and grabbed a baseball from one of the adjacent bookshelves. He started tossing it into the air and catching it again as he idly paced across the floor.

"Adam, I trust you've been keeping up with this AI business in Japan?" Mr. Sarif asked, looking as if he were deeply intrigued with his autographed baseball as Adam remained in a stoic pose in the chair.

"Yeah. I didn't think that there _were_ any AIs besides Eliza out there. But I guess they couldn't all be benign." Adam considered for a moment. "But I don't really see how this concerns us. That kid deleted it before it got out of control, right?" He asked, hoping that his suspicions were unfounded.

Sarif confirmed that they were, much to the guard's relief. "Don't worry about that. CUBIA is definitely done." He said dismissively, waving his hand. "No…Our real problem is the fallout from all this. Think about it…" He turned to Adam and swiftly crossed the floor and leaned over his desk, setting down the baseball. "The biggest software developer in Japan suddenly gets shutdown by the government and declares bankruptcy, and not a week later all of it's assets are appropriated by an _American _company? All of the decision-making, lobbying, and red tape gets finished in that much time? There's no way. There's definitely something bigger going on here…" Sarif seemed sure of himself on this.

"You don't think…" Adam kept the conversation moving, and kept Sarif on track. Sarif always kept Adam in the loop for precisely that reason. He got things done, and made sure everyone else got things done, too. He was management material, in his opinion. Still, a skilled agent had his uses. Adam had proved that when he'd taken down Belltower, and traced the whole thing all the way back to Darrow. Damn…Sarif _still _wasn't over that. Especially when it had taken so many good people from him.

"Exactly." Sarif finished the unspoken thought with a grim expression on his face, which Adam soon adopted as well. "It means that someone in high places wants access to the assets used to make CUBIA. I don't think this is over. Not by a long shot." Sarif walked around the desk and reclined in the chair, and put his hands together under his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, what do you need me to do, boss?" Asked Adam seriously. Sarif's reply was to slide over a couple of boarding passes across the table. "…Narita Internation Airport?" Adam read from the large slip of paper.

"Your flight leaves on Thursday. I don't expect you'll need any hardware, but I'd suggest you bring your Zenith with you just in case. Japan has restrictive gun control laws, so you'll have a hard time getting anything decent once your there. If things don't go down like I think they will…well, enjoy your vacation. You've certainly earned one. But if the shit really does hit the fan, _I'll _contact _you_. Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself."

Adam considered the second ticket for a moment. "But…who's this other ticket for…?" He scanned the pass until he found a name, and winced. "…Francis Pritchard."

* * *

"As you know…" The aging manager of public security began. "Chairman Mitsuhide's announcement last week has really shaken up the status quo in Tokyo. CC Corp had a lot of friends in the Diet, and he's in gotten the commission in some hot water with all of those burned bridges." Chief Daisuke Aramaki elaborated. He sat at the head of a large, white table with a straight head and curved sides. Normally, all of the core members of public security section nine would be seated around him. However, as this particular assignment was to be kept as under the radar and low profile as possible under the circumstances, he had chosen to only include those personnel whose contributions would be crucial to the mission.

"It's no secret that a lot of those government fat cats are in the pockets of big names like Nagashima, but what can they do about it? Mitsuhide was just doing his job." Asked Batou exasperatedly. "He took down a medically dangerous net-game, and he found a rogue AI they were trying to keep under wraps while he was at it. He was just doing his job." The heavy-framed cyborg crossed his arms in front of him.

Across from Batou, another full-prosthetic cyborg voiced her own opinion on the matter. "His job just got a lot of very well-connected people 35 years to life. Worse for Nagashima. He'll die in there, without a doubt. Whatever his crimes, his friends in the government aren't about to just let this go. It'd set a bad precedent for future customers." She finished her theory with a darkly humorous tone. Major Motoko Kusanagi didn't think that Mitsuhide had much of a future in politics after this incident.

"Most probably, the chairman will just lose the next election and disappear or something. It might not be something as dramatic as a public assassination, or even a hit at all. He might get away with nothing but a premature retirement. But none of that is why you two are here today." Chief Aramaki interrupted so that they could get back to the topic at hand.

"About that. Today was supposed to be our day off, right? I don't know about the major, but I had plans today. You want to tell us what's so important?" Batou complained. The major in question simply waited attentively for Chief Aramaki to elaborate on their assignment.

"I was getting to that. Look, I'll be frank with you. None of this is on the books. This new assignment is strictly unofficial and off the payroll. Our branch is in enough trouble with the Diet as it is, and we can't afford any more incidents like what happened with Kuze. I need both of you to keep this low-profile and as inconspicuous as possible. Can I trust you two to do that?" He didn't really need to ask. Both of the cyborg officers had been through hell and high-water under Aramaki's leadership. For all of his faults, they trusted him as much as they would ever trust any superior officer.

They nodded in the affirmative, and Aramaki silently thanked the reliability of his most trusted subordinates. He couldn't leave this assignment to anyone else.

"I'll get right down to the heart of the matter, then. Blizzard Entertainment, an American net-gaming giant, appropriated the remaining infrastructure and intellectual property of CC Corp, as you have undoubtedly seen on the news in between the non-stop hero-worshipping and fanaticism over this Ryou Misaki character." Motoko's lip curved upwards and Batou grinned. They were both more than a little amused over all the senseless attention being given to, by the looks of his recent live interview, an ordinary high-schooler who just happened to be really good at video games. _Poor guy…_ thought Batou._ Kid's gonna have a hell of time with his newfound fame. Doesn't realize that the less he seems to want the attention, the more he's gonna get. I bet he's a household name, this time next month…_

"So soon after the investigation, and not a single complaint from the Diet?" Aramaki asked rhetorically. "Something's fishy about all of this, and I want you to look into it. Of course…Blizzard's lawyers would have a field day with us if they found out we were doing anything overt, so you'll be going in undercover." He said.

"Undercover?" Asked Batou. "How? You want us to just apply for jobs at Blizzard? Their Japanese branch isn't even open yet, and they're probably going to take care of all the technical and design aspects of whatever they're planning back at their HQ in America. I don't think a janitor or a low-level office drone will have access to anything incriminating, if that's what you had in mind…" He snarked. Motoko continued to regard Aramaki neutrally.

"No. I have a different task for you. I have it on good authority that Blizzard will be releasing their next title sometime this September. All you need to do for this job is to purchase a copy of the game and keep an eye out for anything amiss in it's code." Aramaki explained.

"So that's why it's just us for this one." Motoko realized. "You want us to use our hardware to jack directly in to the system. I see…Togusa doesn't have a sophisticated enough system, and Ishikawa is busy dealing with the Mikuro case. But what about Saito and the others?" She asked the Chief quizzically. You would think that he'd want as many eyes on this case as possible.

"I want to keep this operation as small as I can. Due to the dubious nature of the legality of this investigation, I'm only including you two. You both have experience with this sort of thing, and I need cool heads to see this through without a hitch. Besides, it'd be suspicious if too many of Section 9's officers got involved with this. As far as Blizzard is concerned, you two are just a couple of bored cops who want to blow off some steam after work with their newest title. Just make sure you stay focused and keep a sharp look out. The only reason they would swoop down on CC Corp's assets despite the bad publicity and release their newest game in an unheard of zero-trailer surprise launch is because they weren't sure that they would be able to finish it…without the assets from CC Corp. It isn't any surprise that they're releasing it this September. The Akibahara Net-Game Expo is set for two weeks from now, and it'll be the biggest crowd of gaming enthusiasts and otaku all year. It's the perfect place to build up hype, and if I'm right they'll probably start selling copies right there. I want the two of you to attend the expo and buy a copy, then head home as soon as you can to log in. If we're lucky, we'll be able to detect any potential threats before they endanger a large number of players. CC Corp showed the world how dangerous a rogue AI can be, even from something as innocuous as a net-game. Their assets played a key role in whatever Blizzard's up to, and it's up to the two of you to find out what that role is. Good luck…" He let a sardonic smile grace his elderly features. "And have fun."

* * *

"Remind me again why we're going all the way to Japan?" Asked a grizzly looking, older man with snow white hair and a wrinkled face. The rest of his body was all muscle, though you wouldn't think it to look at his civilian wear. He was sitting at a coffee table on board the Nomad, the mobile airborne base of the secretive NGO, Philanthropy. He took a sip of coffee as he read a Picus newspaper pad on recent events, namely a narrowly averted third network crisis based from one of those Japanese online rpgs. He wore an urban camouflage pattern bandana over his forehead, and the distinctive lump of a semiautomatic pistol could be seen in the breast pocket of his jacket.

"Well, there's a tech expo in Akibahara, and I thought it'd be nice to take Sunny to go and check it out. Honestly, I think she could use the fresh after being stuck in the Nomad for so long. God knows she deserves every break she can get…" The voice came from the pilot's seat of the Nomad. Flying the huge aircraft was a middle-aged man with raven-black hair and square-rimmed spectacles. He was wearing a teal sweater and white slacks. "Besides…" He continued. "Johnny and Meryl are going to be there, too. It'll be nice to see them again. It's not like we have anything else to do, for now. I know that all of those jobs in Zanzibarland are doing a lot of good for the people, and all, but we need to take a vacation every once in awhile. It's not good to overwork yourself, Snake."

The legendary mercenary merely grunted in reply. "Hnh. If you say so. Heh…I guess Sunny'll finally see where you got that nickname from, huh Otacon?" Snake deadpanned. Hal chuckled nervously in reply. "Aha ha ha…You're..You're not really gonna bring that up, right…Snake?" he turned around briefly only to be met with the sports section on the back of the newspad.

* * *

"What's this…" Asked a hesitant voice from the interior door to his apartment. Ryou Misaki was leaning in the doorway as he was presented with a high-tech looking box, for lack of a better term. It was all white, but it looked like it had some sort of mechanism that would slide back the covering on the top of the box if he pressed a button in the center.

"I don't rightly know, myself. It didn't come in the mail this afternoon, actually. A man wearing the most peculiar uniform was asking after you, saying he wanted to deliver it to you personally. I told him you weren't seeing anyone at the moment what with all of the hubbub going on, so he left it with me with very strict instructions not to give it to anyone else but you." With that, she handed him the surprisingly lightweight package and went off about her business.

Ryou, scratching his head in confusion, shut the door behind him as he re-entered his apartment. He himself had just woken up after a hectic day and long night in bed. He had to shove his way through crowds of fans and TV people, and he hadn't even gotten to see Chigusa at all. He was starting to think that granting that one interview had been a bad idea after all. Ever since then, representatives from NHN, KNN, and Sakura TV had all approached him time and time again looking for similar deals. His father had yet to contact him further, so he obstinately refused each and every one.

He had felt bad for a disabled kid who had asked for his autograph, so he'd agreed to sign it just that one time…Now, it seemed like every teenage girl and net-game otaku in Tokyo was on his case every time he went outside. He hadn't even been safe at school, as several of his geekier classmates had accosted him before class the other day.

Plopping down on his fold-out leather sofa, he held the mysterious package in his lap and looked for a way to open it. The thing was cool and smooth to the touch, like stainless steel. When he touched the button in the center of center-left of the box, it lit up luminescent green, and a digitzed voice called out from an invisible speaker somewhere. _"Fingerprint scan positive. Identity confirmed : Misaki Ryou. Package received. Access granted." _The voice came in smooth, computerized tones with verbal inflections that differentiated with each word. It was clear that it was a recording from a standardized vocabulary of Japanese words arranged in a variable sequence to play a message. Ryou recoiled slightly as he was startled by the _hiss _that came from the box as an invisible seal cracked open and the top of the box split in two, as the two halves of the top separated and lowered, then extended to the right and left sides of the box until it looked like his package had two rectangular wings and the contents were clearly visible.

Resting inside an interior of silkily-smooth black velvet was a letter. The after breaking the blank wax seal on it. Ryou removed what was best described as some kind of brochure.

_Ryou Misaki, this letter cordially invites you to be the guest of honor at Blizzard Entertainment's midnight launch of our newest title, which will be simultaneously announced and released at the 4th Annual Akibahara Technology and Game Expo taking place at __Chūōdōri Boulevard, on September 2nd, 2018 all the way through September 9th. The big unveiling will occur on day 1, so be sure to attend! It would be the great honor of Blizzard Entertainment to provide you with complimentary admission, food, refreshments, a VIP 7-Day Pass for all shows and attractions located at the expo, as well as transportation in the form of a private Toyota Century right at your doorstep all the way to the expo on the day in question. Not only that, but you will receive a complimentary copy of Blizzard's new release with a lifetime subscription guarantee, as well as the oppurtunity to appear on stage in during Blizzard's slot to be the first person to log in and demonstrate Blizzard's newest product. We hope to see you soon!_

_Signed, President and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment, Jack Harper_

Huh. Well this was different. An appearance at Akibahara's tech expo was actually quite exclusive, these days. The whole thing was run and organized by major technology firms from around the world to showcase their newest products. Well…maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Even if he didn't like being out in the limelight so much, maybe the smaller news networks would leave him alone when they saw what it took to get him to put in an appearance. Besides…he hadn't been able to see much of Chigusa between the world being shut down for good and him having to dodge through huge crowds of adoring fans and enterprising media workers just to get to school. Maybe a new game would be just what the doctor ordered. Besides, he needed to get out more. He'd been cooped up in his apartment for days, only leaving to go to school and for that interview the other day. Luckily, the crowds outside could hardly bar the way of a private limo.

* * *

"My lord…I have brought what you asked for." Came a voice through the darkness. In the single spotlight overlooking the otherwise pitch black of the room, a man sat restrained to an almost throne-like chair. Huge, thick bands wrapped him like a mummy to the terrible throne, and the owner of the voice was nowhere in sight.

"Excellent." Said the prisoner, deeply pleased by the diversion. His faithful servant had kept him appraised of events taking place down in the land of the living, and it would appear that his plans were finally coming to fruition. Even if the scenario proved to be unsuccessful, this would at least be an amusing distraction from the otherwise crushing and ceaseless monotony of his solitary entombment in the deepest pit that the newly elected Central 46 had elected to cast him in to. Muken was such a boring place, after all, and twenty thousand years was a very, very long time, even to him.

The last, ever-faithful servant of the fallen god imprisoned before him reached out from the darkness, and placed a strange, anachronistic device onto the lap of his lord. It consisted of an illuminated holographic screen, a pressure sensitive holographic keyboard, and a stainless titanium chasis with the emblem of an earthly organization beneath the notice of any god, even a fallen, broken, and imprisoned one. It was, for all intents and purposes, an ordinary, if luxurious, laptop. Even now, unseen in the darkness, the faithful disciple was setting up additional equipment meant to allow a secure connection to the world of the living, a small, miniscule connection that would go unnoticed. It was large enough to get a signal through, though. Sure enough, the holographic screen displayed an icon that signaled that a connection had been established between the laptop and the humans' world wide database. Only a trickle of the fallen god's power could be released from his bindings at all, a barely miniscule amount that only allowed him to interact with the world to the smallest degree. The keys did not know that, thought. The keys, the built in touchpad, even the touchscreen function was just as sensitive to spiritual pressure as they were to the more mundane variety. A trickle of the power of a god, however small, was more than enough to influence such a device. And down here in Muken, there would be no one to disturb him.

A smile that did not reach the singular exposed eye of the the prisoner slowly crept upon his face, even as his faithful aide withdrew to continue his duties in his meager post in the society above, without a word. To no one in particular, Sosuke Aizen said "Let the game begin."


End file.
